GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - For the second consecutive
season, the Green Bay (12-4-1, 6-2-0 HL) men's soccer team heads into the
Horizon League Championship as a No. 2 seed, and for the second consecutive
season Green Bay's offense is powered by senior JC Banks (Milwaukee, Wis.).

Despite being overlooked for Horizon
League Offensive Player of the Year accolades, Banks leads the league in three
of four offensive categories, goals (12), points (29) and shots (78). Banks is
third in the league in assists with five.

"No question, JC scores a lot of
goals for us and a lot of teams are going to key on him, but that's okay
because we have a lot of other guys like Tony Walls and Sam Krenzien who can
step up," said head coach Tom Poitras.

After a slow start to the season,
Green Bay has an eight-game winning streak heading into this weekend's
tournament, the third longest in school history. Five of Green Bay's last eight
games have been played away from home, just like Friday's second round game
will be.

Regardless of whether the Phoenix
is on the road or at home, its offense has been solid and consistent heading
into the most important part of the season.

"We definitely have a lot of guys
that are capable of scoring. They just need to show that confidence heading
into the tournament," Poitras said. "Big players step up and make plays in big
game situations, and we expect that this weekend."

Throughout the winning streak,
Green Bay has averaged 2.5 goals per game with seven different players scoring.
Second in the league in goals (35), assists (24), points (94) and shots (278),
Green Bay has outscored its opponents 20-6 during the streak with a
shot-on-goal percentage of .460.

Nationally, Green Bay's scoring
offense ranks 13th and it is 17th in total goals and won-lost-tied percentage.
Statistically on paper, Green Bay appears to be more than ready for its second
consecutive tournament championship, but Poitras feels his team still has a lot
to improve on before Friday's 11 a.m. kick off.

"We still need to fine-tune some
things. Finishing is always the key in big games because you don't get many
chances so we need to be sharper around the goal," said Poitras. "We need a
solid team effort and if we do the little things right we can come out on the
positive end."

Green Bay will play No. 3 seed
Loyola (5-10-2, 4-3-1 HL) on Friday at 11 a.m. at the Butler Bowl in
Indianapolis. With a win Friday, Green Bay will advance to its
second-consecutive championship game Sunday at noon.